Always on your side
by DieselShay
Summary: Dom&Gracie are back, but are the feelings the same?
1. The Call

What they don't know won't hurt them 2: Always on your side.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Authors Note: Hey Dom and Gracie are back! Please R&R! If you haven't read the first story I wrote you might not understand this one so please Read and Review "What they don't know wont hurt them"! This is kinda a short one I know! The next will be longer, but I'm not sure how soon I will be able to update! Remember though...PLEASE R&R!  
~ Shay  
  
  
"Goodnight little girl." Dominic said to now two-year-old Mia kissing her on the head.  
  
"Wait daddy, I wanna see my name again!" Mia said giggling. Dominic sighed and lifted up the back of his shirt again showing the tattoo of his fiancé's and his daughter's name.  
  
"Why'd you and mommy name me Mia Vincenza?" she asked having a hard time pronouncing the "Vincenza" part.  
  
"Mommy and I wanted to name you after auntie Mia and Uncle Vince." Dominic said smiling. He loved remembering the day she was born.  
  
"Uncle V must have been happy." Little Mia said smiling.   
  
Dominic laughed. His daughter knew exactly how V's personality was. He had been really excited when they decided to name her after him. His head blew up and he wouldn't put Little Mia down for a week. Everyone in the house had gotten accustomed to calling her Little Mia, it was easier, no confusion in the house.  
  
"Yes he was, now its time to go to bed. Mommy's birthdays breakfast is in the morning." Dominic said kissing his daughters head, pulling the covers up to her chin and leaving the room.  
  
Gracie's birthday was today. She would be 18. Dominic smiled to himself; he finally got to marry her. He was absolutely overjoyed, things had been tough for him and Gracie for a while, she was barely over 16 when he got her pregnant and he was 25. Not an easy thing to deal with, but he loved her and Little Mia with all his heart.  
  
Dominic walked to his room and climbed into bed. Gracie still hadn't gotten home yet, she had gone out with Letty, Mia, Leon, Jesse and Vince, they probably just hit traffic. He hadn't gone because he promised he would watch a movie with Mia, and he wasn't feeling so great. So he stayed with her instead of getting a babysitter and going out with the team. He felt bad about not going out on Gracie's birthday but he would make it up to her. He tried to stay up and wait for her but her drifted off to sleep. He was awoken by the phone.  
  
"Hello?" Dominic said with a groggy voice.  
  
"Baby...?" it was Gracie and she was crying.  
  
"Gracie what's wrong?" Dominic asked frantically.  
  
"You need to come down the hospital now!" Gracie said through tears.  
"Gracie what the hell happened?!" Dominic almost yelled but remembered Little Mia was asleep.  
  
"Jesse, Leon and Vince had way too much to drink and they got into a fight with this guy he was being an asshole and trying to hit on Mia. He had a knife and he stabbed Leon a few times and they wont tell us how he is!" Gracie said sobbing. Dominic could barely understand her but he made out the words.  
  
"I'll drop Mia off to Letty's mom and I'm coming right down! I love you!" Dominic said hanging up the phone. He jumped out of bed pulled on some clothes and ran across the hall to Mia's room.  
  
"Come on sweetie get up." Dominic said grabbing Little Mia and her blanket.  
  
"Daddy it isn't morning yet is it?" she asked him yawning.  
  
"No it's not baby but mommy called and Uncle Leon is very sick right now, so I have to go see him. I'm going to bring you over to Letty's mom's house ok?" Dominic told his daughter as he picked her up and ran down the stairs.  
  
"Daddy I don't want Uncle Leon to be sick!" Little Mia told him as she began to cry.  
  
"I know you don't, I don't either, just say a little prayer for him ok?" Dominic said trying not to upset her.  
  
"Ok daddy." Mia said holding back her tears as Dominic put her in the back seat of the car and buckled her in tight.   
  
It seemed like only moments later he was in Marlena, Letty's mom's driveway.  
  
"Marlena!" Dominic yelled getting out of the car and grabbing Little Mia.  
  
Marlena came out of the house in her bathrobe.  
  
"Dominic its 1 in the morning! What's going on?" Marlena asked taking Little Mia from him.  
  
"Eon-lay is inay the ospital-hay. E-hay ot-gay tabbed-say." Dominic said in pig latin, knowing Little Mia didn't know how to speak it.  
  
Marlena sucked in her breathe and started praying in Spanish.  
  
"Go Dom, I'll take her." Marlena said carrying Little Mia into the house and shuting the door.  
  
Dominic got into the car and peeled out of the driveway. Thoughts ran through his head faster than they had in a long time. He and Gracie were getting married in a month, he wanted his best friend to be there. In his head he prayed for Leon too. 


	2. 4 stitches and a headache

Authors Note: Heres a new chapter...Come on people gimme some reviews!!!~Shay  
  
Chapter 2  
  
  
"All of that for FOUR STITCHES?!" Leon screamed as the team walked him out of the hospital. The rest of them were laughing.  
  
"Guys they had all of you worried sick, I thought he cut like a major artery or something the way they were moving around!" Leon shouted. The team continued to laugh.  
  
Gracie put her arm around Dominic's waist.   
  
"Lets go home to our daughter eh?" she said standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.  
  
Dominic just smiled.  
  
"What's the big smile about?" Gracie asked him  
  
He didn't answer.   
  
"Dominic!" Gracie yelled pinching him.  
  
"Let's leave Little Mia with Marlena tonight." He said smiling.  
  
Gracie smiled back.  
  
"Awww common guys not in front of the kids!" Vince yelled laughing.  
  
"We don't need to know what your gonna do!" Letty said smiling.  
  
"We're not gonna do anything, I have a headache." Gracie said laughing as she opened the car door .  
  
"OOOOOH SHUT DOWN!" Leon, Jesse and Vince yelled at the same time.  
  
"Gotta love the headache routine!" Jesse said laughing.  
  
"Yeah I bet you get it all the time." Gracie said laughing as she got into the car and shut the door.  
  
They all laughed including Jesse.  
  
Dominic smiled. He loved his family.   
  
"See you guys tomorrow."  
  
Dominic pulled up to Marlena's house in no time. He softly knocked on the door knowing that Little Mia would be asleep. Marlena came to the door and breathed a heavy sigh.  
  
"How is he?!" she asked.  
  
"Four stitches." Dominic said laughing.  
  
"All of that commotion for four little stitches?!" Marlena asked.  
  
"Yeah it surprised Leon too." Gracie said smiling. "Where's my baby?"   
  
Marlena pointed to the couch where Little Mia was asleep under a blue blanket that had animals all over it. By the look of the condition of it, you could tell it was Letty's when she was little.  
  
Gracie walked over to the couch and picked up Mia trying not to wake her. She didn't succeed.   
  
"Hi mommy!" Mia said sleepily but happily.  
  
"Hi baby, I missed you." Gracie said kissing her forehead.  
  
"I missed you too, can I finally go to sleep in my own bed now?" Mia asked.  
  
"Yes you can." Gracie said smiling and handing her to Dominic.  
  
They carried her out to the car and said thanks to Marlena. Soon they were home and Little Mia was in bed. Gracie and Dominic sat on the couch watching a movie, and Gracie fell asleep in his lap. He watched her sleep for a few hours and remembered back to when before Mia was born and they were going to Mexico. He remembered how beautiful she was. She was 15, and her gorgeous dark hair hung long down her back.  
  
She was still beautiful but she cut her hair up to her shoulders and got a perm, it was different but more grown-up. He loved the bouncy little curls she had now. While she would sleep he would tug on them and watch them come straight and then curl back up when he let go.   
  
Soon he was marrying her. She would no longer be Gracie Tallance. She would be Gracie Toretto. He loved this idea so much he could hardly control himself. The love he felt for her grew every day. Sometimes it was so strong it hurt, and lately it hurt more and more. But he likes the way it felt because she was his, and would be his forever, and they had a beautiful daughter who looked just like her.  
  
He thanked God for being so good to him and fell asleep.  
The next morning when he woke up Gracie wasn't next to him. He sat up and longer for the feeling of her in his arms, when he found a note on the coffee table.  
  
"Good morning sleepy head! I went with Letty and Mia to figure out how I'm going to get my hair done for our wedding; I took Little Mia with us! We love you."  
  
Gracie.  
  
  
Dominic smiled and folded up the note, he went upstairs to their room and put it in a box that they kept all their notes to each other in. They weren't sure what they would do with them but they likes to have them.  
  
Dominic walked down the hallway and stood in the door of Little Mia's room and smiled. His little girl. He adored her since the day she was born and she adored him. He loved the way she bounced around the house after him. She wanted to help him in the garage and he would let her wash the hubcaps of the cars with the help of Jesse letting her think she was doing something great for daddy.   
  
He smiled at the thought of it. He smiled more and more lately. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he was happier, and things were only just about to get better for him. 


	3. Major Authors Note please read

Hey this is just an authors note.like I said at the beginning of this story, you should DEFINATLEY read my first one "what they don't know wont hurt them". Thanks. And to Da Mix-thank you very much for your review but the reason I don't have Dom and Letty together was because in the movie I didn't think that they made the best couple, that's all.and remember these stories are completely fictional, I'm not trying to demean the movie in any way. If you read my first story you'll no longer be confused about what's going on. There is a method to my madness I swear.you'll all find out what it is at the end of this story. Thanks!~Shay 


	4. Bathroom Revelation

Chapter 3  
Hey Guys sorry its been so long! I've had writers block and a ton of stuff to do! PLEASE R AND R!  
  
  
Gracie came home and smiled at Dominic when he opened the door. His eyes lit up and he took Little Mia from her and closed the door behind them.  
  
"So did you figure it out?" he asked with a smile on his face.  
  
"Sure did!" Gracie said smiling back at him. He hugged her trying not to squish Little Mia in the process.  
  
"Alright sweetie I'll be back, I'm going to take a shower." Gracie said and headed up the stairs.  
  
When she got to the bathroom she shut the door and slumped against it. She started sobbing. The silent sobs where you can barely breathe and your head hurts so hard you can hardly think. Gracie stood up and looked in the mirror at her youthful face, she couldn't believe what was going on. She was barely 18 and was getting married in a week to a man 10 years older than her. Gracie had a little girl and she was his, for a while she thought she might not be, but when she looked into Little Mia's eyes she saw Dominic and that was the only confirmation she needed. She had fooled around on Dom a few times with a guy her own age not long before she had gotten pregnant, Dominic and the others had no idea, and she wanted to keep it that way.  
  
When she was 15 she thought she was in love with Dominic, and now that she was older she wasn't sure whether she still loved him and if she ever even did. Gracie didn't know whether or not the old feeling she had for him had been just puppy love, and she wasn't even sure what she felt for Dominic now. She was confused and everything was happening so fast. She couldn't believe that a week later she was going to be tied to him for the rest of her life, she didn't know if she wanted that. God Little Mia made her happier than anything else in the world, but she knew that she loved Little Mia, there was no question. Gracie would give up her life for her daughter. Gracie just didn't know if she wanted to be unhappy with Dominic and then divorce him, she didn't want Little Mia to have to grow up with fighting parents if she didn't have to.  
  
After her revelation in the bathroom, Gracie knew what she had to do.  
  
At three that morning, Gracie got up before Dominic even stirred. She grabbed her suitcase which she had packed earlier and hidden along with a smaller one for Little Mia. Gracie crept to her daughter room and gently woke her up.  
  
"Come on sweetie." Gracie said lifting her daughter from her bed and going downstairs.  
  
"Mommy where are we going?" Little Mia asked sleepily. Her mother didn't answer.  
Gracie quitley started to write a note with one hand while she held Mia with the other in the kitchen. Suddenly the light turned on.  
  
"Baby what's going on?" Dominic asked Gracie as he appeared in the kitchen doorway.  
  
"Dominic I'm leaving for a while." She said giving up the note, she wouldn't need it now.   
  
"What do you mean your leaving?!" Dominic asked getting scared. He needed her what was she talking about? He loved her more than anything and had been nothing but good to her!  
  
"I mean me and Little Mia are going away for a while, I need to think Dominic." Gracie said not looking at him.  
  
"Mommy why are we leaving? Is daddy coming?" Mia asked her starting to cry.  
  
"We're going on a little trip sweetie, but daddy isn't coming with us." Gracie told her daughter.   
  
"Please Gracie, Oh my God don't take my little girl away from me!" Dominic pleaded with her holding back tears.  
  
"Dominic I don't know if I'm ready for everything that's happening right now and I just need to get away and think ok? Please don't make this any harder than it is..."Gracie trailed off before Dominic cut in.  
  
"This is hard on you?! Gracie, I love you and I want to be with you forever, we have baby and your taking her away from me too! You two are my life! Please don't leave me and please don't take my daughter!" Dominic said breaking down into tears.  
  
"This is for the best right now!" Gracie said opening the kitchen door and running out into the rain which had just started to fall.  
  
"Gracie! Please! Don't do this!" Dominic yelled running after her.   
  
Gracie opened her car door as Little Mia started to scream.  
  
"Daddy come with us! Daddy please! Mommy stop it let daddy come!" Little Mia begged her mother.  
  
Gracie put Mia in her carseat and closed the back door and got in and drove away.  
  
By this time the rest of the house had stirred. Letty, Mia, Vince, Leon and Jesse all ran outside.  
  
"What's going on? And where are Gracie and Little Mia going?!" Jesse asked Dominic.  
  
He was speechless and he couldn't answer for a minute. Everyone just stared at each other as they tried fruitlessly to piece together what had just happened.  
  
"She's leaving me, and she took away my daughter." Dominic said finally sullenly. By this time he was on his knees in the mud staring at Gracie's parking space in their driveway.  
  
"I don't understand Dominic, what the hell is going on?" Vince asked as Dominic walked back into the house ignoring his question. They all followed him.  
  
Dominic picked up the note that Gracie had started to write.  
  
"Dominic I'm really sorry about this. I don't think I'm ready to marry you just yet, I don't even know if I love you. I cant marry someone that I don't love and be miserable, it would be terrible for Little Mia to go through and I don't want my daughter to be anything less than happy. I'm sorry please try to understand. Know that Little Mia loves you more than anything in the world, and I'm so grateful that you and I had her, I would never change that for the world."  
Gracie.  
  
Dominic crumpled up the note and through it aimlessly towards the wastebasket, not even realizing that he missed. He went upstairs to his room as the other behind him read the note.  
  
Dominic sank into his bed and felt the warmth of the spot where Gracie had been only minutes ago. He couldn't believe everything that had just happened and he started to drift to sleep when there was a knock on the door. He got up and opened it finding his sister and his best friends on the other side.  
  
"Dominic we're really sorry..." Letty said not looking at him.  
  
"I know you guys...I just need to be alone right now, maybe longer than right now." Dominic said looking into Letty's eyes.   
  
"Alright dawg, just know that we're here for you and we love you man." Leon said to him.   
  
Dominic nodded and close the door. He sunk back into the bed and flipped onto his stomach.   
  
"Little Mia." He said to himself before he fell asleep. 


	5. Left in the dust

Hey ALRIGHT I NEED FEEDBACK IM BEGINNING TO FEEL UNLOVED! Hahaha. Alright but REALLY please R&R  
Shay.  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
Gracie drove along the highway. Little Mia was exhausted from crying so hard and she was asleep in the backseat. Tears began to stream down Gracie's face. What the hell was she doing?   
  
"I'm so clueless right now." Gracie said softly out-loud to no one but herself.  
  
She looked into the rearview mirror and saw her daughter. All she wanted was for her to be happy and she realized that doing this to her was just going to make her miserable. She didn't want her to have a broken family like she had had for so long in her life.   
  
Gracie pulled over to the side of the road and shut off the car. She closed her eyes for a few minutes until she knew what the best thing was for her to do. She picked up her cell phone and dialed a number.  
  
  
*Back at the Torettos*  
  
The phone rang and awoke Dominic from his sleep. He reached across the bed and remembered that Gracie and his daughter were gone. The two loves of his life, everything had crumbled to pieces. He picked up the phone.  
  
"Hello?" he answered sleepily.  
  
"Dom?" Gracie asked through silent falling tears.  
  
This is it Dominic thought. She's gonna come back to me and everything's going to be the same. We can forget about all of this happening. And I can have my baby girl back.  
  
"Yes...Gracie are you ok? Please come home." Dominic pleaded with her  
  
I cant come home...not just yet Dominic. I don't know if I can ever come home..." She said solemnly into the receiver.   
  
"What do you mean you don't know if you can ever come home? I love you! What the hell did I do wrong!" Dominic screamed into the phone.  
  
"I want you to take Little Mia, I cant bare to see the pain that she's in when she's not with you." Gracie told him.  
"Why isn't she coming home? I love her more than anything. I need her!" Dominic thought to himself.  
  
"Alright tell me where you are and I'll come get her." Dominic said in a calm voice.   
  
  
An hour later Dominic pulled up next to Gracie's car and got out. Slowly he walked to meet her. He looked like a puppy dog that had just been punished needlessly, and that's exactly what Gracie had done to him.  
  
"I can't believe I'm doing this to him." Gracie thought as she looked into his deep brown eyes.  
  
"Can I have my little girl?" Dominic asked breaking the silence.  
  
Gracie nodded her head and opened the back door of her car. She gently lifted her sleeping daughter and carefully placed her in her father's arms. She didn't want to wake her up and have another screaming fit.  
  
"Gracie please come home. I love you..." Dominic trailed off with tears starting to well up in his eyes.  
  
"Dominic...please just let me do this." Gracie said standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the top of his head and then getting into her car after she whispered, "I love you" to Little Mia.  
  
She drove away leaving Dominic holding his daughter in the dust on the side of the road. He kissed her head and put her in her car seat in his car.   
  
"I love you Gracie". He said to himself as he drove away.  
  
  
Gracie drove on mindlessly for a few hours when she found herself parked in the lot of a hotel.   
  
"Time for some shut-eye." She said lifelessly to herself.  
  
She checked into a room and hoped onto the bed.   
  
"I can't believe I did this!" She screamed to herself.  
  
And without knowing what else to do she headed to the mini-bar in the hotel room. She opened the door and observed the contents. She hadn't had a drink in 3 years, not after she and Leon got drunk and almost had sex, and they would have if Dominic hadn't intervened. She then realized how screwed up her entire life was.  
  
"Bottoms up." She said to herself as she opened a small bottle of vodka and sucked it dry. 


	6. Baby

Please R&R!!!!!  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
  
Little Mia woke up in her own bed and was confused. She remembered her mother taking her away and not letting daddy come with them, but that was all.  
  
Dominic came into her room and kissed her forehead.  
  
"Morning baby." He said smiling at her.   
  
There was pain in his eyes. He loved his daughter but she looked so goddamned much like her mother. Her entire structure was like her mother. It pained Dominic to see the image of the woman that he loved and left him staring him in the face. Little Mia smiled at him, that smile. That damn smile, only Gracie had that smile, it was the smile that you could tell it was Gracie after you hadn't seen her in years. That how Dominic knew who she was when she had come back.  
  
"Where's mommy?" Little Mia asked breaking Dominic concentration.  
  
"Mommy went away for a little while." Dominic answered his daughter.  
  
Little Mia started to cry again. She didn't understand what was going on. First her mother took her away from her father and then her mother was gone and she was home.  
  
"It's alright sweetie please don't cry." Dominic said trying not to cry himself.  
  
Little Mia nodded her head, she was young but she understood that her crying was going to make her daddy cry. Seeing her daddy cry was scary, he was the big strong man who protected her from everything.  
  
Dominic gave Little Mia a hug and left the room. He ran into Letty in the hallway. As soon as he saw her he broke into tears and gave her a hug.  
  
"It's ok man, Gracie will come around! She'll come back." Letty said trying to console him.  
  
"I hope your right Let...but it's so hard seeing Little Mia...she looks exactly like her. She's just like her mother!"   
  
"Why don't you drop her off at my mothers until this all blows over?" Letty asked him looking up into his face.  
  
"Wouldn't that be just like abandoning her though?" Dominic asked her.  
  
"I don't think so...I think it would be easier on her. She wouldn't have to deal with not seeing her mom...and remember when we all went on vacation? You guys dropped her off there...you could tell her everyone was going on vacation." Letty told him.  
  
"I think your right. As much as I love her and I don't want her to not be here, it hurts inside when I see her." Dominic said clearing the tears from his face.  
  
"I'll call my mom...you go make up a story to tell Little Mia." Letty told him and retreated down the stairs.  
  
Dominic stood in the hall for a few more minutes, thought of something somewhat believable for a three year old and went back into Gracie's room.  
  
"Hi daddy." Little Mia said looking up from her dolls.  
  
"Hi sweetie. I just talked to mommy." Dominic said lying through his teeth.  
  
"You did?!" Little Mia asked him smiling.  
  
"Yup and she's coming home, but we're going on vacation for a little while...so your going to Marlena's house ok?" Dominic said faking a smile.  
  
"Ok daddy, I'll get to see mommy when you come home right?" she asked him trying to make sure that her mother was definitely coming back.  
  
"You sure will now lets get some of your stuff together." Dominic said getting up to pack a bag for her.  
  
Letty came up the stairs.  
  
"Everything's all set." She told Dom.  
  
"Auntie Letty!" Little Mia yelled running to her.  
  
"Hi sweetie." Letty said picking her up.  
  
"Are you going on vacation too?" Little Mia asked her.  
  
"Yes I am, do you want me to bring you back a present?" Letty asked Little Mia, trying to make Dominic's lie as authentic as possible.  
  
Little Mia nodded her head. Letty put her down and she ran back to playing with her dolls.   
  
"I hope your right about this Letty." Dominic said as he brought Little Mia's bag downstairs.   
  
The whole team was in the kitchen and they had been informed about what was going on. Little Mia went around to each one of them, giving them hugs and saying goodbye.  
  
"You sure you know what your doing dawg?" Vince asked Dominic quietly as he walked Little Mia to the door.  
  
"I don't know what else to do. I'll be back soon." Dominic answered as he close the door behind him and his daughter.   
  
Dominic drove silently to Marlena's house. He handed off his daughter to Letty's mother and kissed them both goodbye.  
  
As he drove home he felt as if he had lost everything. It built up inside of him and his whole body shook, he felt like he couldn't breathe and he pulled over to the side of the road and got out of the car. He fell to the ground trying to catch his breath and looked up and realized where he was. The beach a street over from his house. He remembered that this was the place Gracie hid when she was little and when she had come back at 15 and had been confused about her feelings for him she came her and he found her. They slept on the beach that night. Being at such an important place didn't help his ability to breath, he felt as if he was going to pass out he screamed a hopeless cry to himself and then threw up.   
  
When he finally felt like he could breath again he drove home. The song that was on the radio didn't help him either. Dominic felt as if nothing was going right for him.  
  
  
Ashanti: Baby.  
I don't remember feeling like this...  
Baby...Baby I love you...Baby...Baby I love you.  
[Verse 1]  
I got this jones forming in my bones (from a man)  
who indeed took over my soul, (understand)  
I couldn't breathe if he ever said (he would leave),  
get on my knees till they bloody red, (baby please)  
see I don't know if you get it yet, (just don't know)  
He's like the lighter to my cigarette,  
(watch me smoke), I never knew another human life  
(didn't know) can have the power to take over mine,  
So baby baby.  
[Chorus]  
Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby,(baby I love you) baby,  
baby, baby, baby, baby, I love it when I hear  
ya name, got me sayin' baby, baby, baby,  
baby, baby,(baby I love you) baby, baby, baby, baby, baby.  
[Verse 2]  
See, I could never feel alone with you (in my life),  
I gave up everything I own for you (won't  
think twice), almost a shame how I'm mesmerized (such a shame),  
I loose my thought looking in your eyes (I know why)  
because your kisses make my lips quiver and (that's real) and when you  
touch me my whole body shivers. (I can feel) now,  
I can see how another life(nother life) you  
have the power to take over mine cause your my.  
[Chorus 2x]  
[Verse 3]  
Baby, I can't see my worth (I can't see) living here on  
God's green earth, you don't know what  
you've done to me, (done to me) I never thought  
I'd need you desperately,(desperately) it's kind  
of sick how I'm stuck on you(stuck on you)  
but I don't care cause I'm needing you (I'm needing you)  
and how I feel will remain the same (remains the same)  
cause your're my baby, (cause your my baby)  
listen and when the world starts to stress me out,  
(where I run) it's to you boy without  
a doubt (you're the one) who keeps me sane and I can't complain  
(can't complain) you're like a  
drug you relieve my pain (may seem strange)  
you're like the blood flowing through my vain, (oooo)  
keeps me alive and feeding my brain,  
(oooo) now this is how another human life (nother life) could  
have the power to take over mine cause your my  
[Chorus 2x] 


	7. I'm Sorry

Hey. I have a lot of time to work on this because of Thanksgiving break so please make it worth my while and R&R!  
Shay.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
As Dominic entered the house the phone began to ring. He threw his keys down on the table and paused with his hand on the receiver. He wanted desperately for it to be Gracie but at the same time he did not. He didn't know what to say to her. Finally he sighed and picked up the phone.  
  
"Hello?" Dominic called into the empty space.  
  
"Hello, is this Mr. Dominic Toretto?" the voice on the other end asked.  
  
"Yes..."Dominic trailed off.  
  
"This is Dr. Gafeeri at Angel Memorial. You are the fiancé of Gracie Tallance correct?" The voice asked him.  
  
"Yes doctor I am..." Dominic stated starting to get worried. Why was a hospital calling about Gracie.  
  
"We need you to come pick up Ms. Tallance, she was brought in early this morning intoxicated and she needed to have her stomach pumped." The doctor told Dominic.   
  
He couldn't believe it. Gracie started drinking again. She hadn't touched the stuff in three years, she was doing so good. She had promised him a long time ago that she wasn't going to drink again until she legally could and then told him another time that she didn't think she would ever drink again. Maybe she had been drinking all along without anyone else knowing it? Was she a closet drinker? He didn't think he even knew her anymore. First she walked out on him telling him she didn't think that she loved him anymore and then she had her stomach pumped at the hospital.   
  
"I'll be right down doctor." Dominic said hanging up the phone.  
  
Leon and Jesse entered the doorway at this moment.  
  
"What's going on man?" Jesse asked.  
  
"Gracie started drinking again. Someone brought her to Angel Memorial this morning to have her stomach pumped." Dominic said with anger in his voice as he walked out and shut the door behind him.  
  
"I cant believe she even touched the stuff again!" Jesse said after Dominic had left.  
  
"I cant believe a lot of the stuff that's going on lately man." Leon said to him.  
  
*At Angel Memorial*  
  
"I'm Dominic Toretto and I'm here to pick up Gracie Tallance." Dominic said to the receptionist at the desk.  
  
"Relation?" The woman asked.  
  
"Fiancé." He answered her with a tone of annoyance. He wasn't sure whether what he told her was true or not anymore.  
  
"She's right down the hall in 201." The receptionist told him pointing down the hall.  
  
Dominic slowly made his way down the hall. He peeked around the door into the room where Gracie was. She was silently sobbing to herself and her mascara was running down her face giving her eyes like a raccoons. She looked up and saw Dominic standing in the doorway.   
  
"Look at him. I've hurt him so much and all he ever did was love me." Gracie thought to herself. When she saw the pain in Dominic's eyes she stopped crying and looked away. She was completely disgusted with herself. She ran out on him with his daughter, called him to have him come get his daughter, and then got completely trashed and the next thing she knew she was in the hospital having charcoal pumped down her throat. She felt something soft rubbing at her face and looked up to see Dominic wiping away the mascara with a cloth.  
  
He didn't say anything, and neither did she. He just took her hand, lead her out of the hospital and to the car. The entire way home not a word was said. Gracie leaned her head against the window and looked up at the brightly shining afternoon sun. She closed her eyes and remembered when she was 15 and on the beach with Jesse. She knew that she loved Dominic but she wanted more than anything to fight the feelings. That's exactly what was happening to her now. She was fighting the way she felt, because she was scared. She did love him, she knew it now. Gracie smiled to herself as she thought about it. At this time she also thought about her car, but decided that she and Dominic would pick it up later.  
  
When they got home Dominic didn't say a word to her and just went upstairs to their room. Gracie was in tow. She closed the door behind them and looked at Dominic who was standing with his back to her facing the bed. Gracie walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He took his hands and rubbed them against hers.   
  
"I'm sorry." She told him. 


	8. Adam

Hey! Thank you to Nikita for reviewing me! I'm beginning to feel loved again! Come on guys I need some more feedback! Thanks.  
Shay.   
  
Chapter 7  
  
Gracie closed her eyes and leaned her head against Dominic's back. It felt good to feel the warmth of his body next to her again. Suddenly Dominic dropped his hands from hers and turned around to face her.  
  
He stared blankly into her face. For once Gracie couldn't tell what Dominic was feeling. She titled her head to the side and stared back at him. Gracie could feel her heart pound inside her chest. Not the kind of heart pounding where you're excited, but the kind when you're scared as hell. The beating got louder and louder and she wondered whether Dominic could hear it or not, or whether it was just inside her head, like some goddamned "Tell-Tale Heart" shit.   
  
"What's wrong?" she asked him finally breaking the screaming silence.  
  
He didn't answer her. He stared directly into her eyes for a few moments and then finally shook his head and sat down on the bed.  
  
"What's wrong?" Gracie asked him again with a mixture of sincere concern and annoyance in her tone.   
  
Dominic looked to the floor and continued to shake his head.  
  
"Do you have any idea how bad you hurt me in the past two days?" He replied to her finally.   
  
"I'm sorry." Gracie repeated to him.  
  
"No you don't seem to understand Gracie. I believe that your sorry but I don't understand why the hell you did what you just did! I wake up at like three in the morning and you're not next to me, I go downstairs and you're in the kitchen all packed to go with my daughter! I beg you to stay and you take off. Then you call me a few hours later and ask me to come get Little Mia. I do, and I BEG you to come home and you wont! You tell me that you don't think you love me and that you don't think you can ever come home! I bring Little Mia home but have to take her to Marlena's because when I look into her eyes all I see is YOU. Then the hospital calls and tells me that I need to pick you up because you had your stomach pumped after you supposedly haven't touched the shit in three years! I come and get you and take you home and you follow me up here, throw your arms around me and tell me your sorry. I can't forgive you until I know why you did this to me! I've done nothing but love you, I've never hurt you once and I think I'm a damned good father to our daughter. Just answer me once question Gracie....WHY?" Dominic yelled out and when he was finished he tried to catch his breath.  
Gracie at that moment burst into tears and dropped to her knees. She clung onto his legs crying and then finally spoke as her tears sank into the carpet.   
  
"Do you know what it's like to be 16 and pregnant with the baby of a man who's ten years older than you? Do you know what its like to be 18 and getting married to the same man who got you pregnant? I was scared Dominic! Everything seemed to be so damn perfect lately that I had to find something wrong with it. I thought that maybe I didn't really love you and I couldn't go through with getting married, I'm only 18! I looked around me and saw everything I couldn't have anymore. I was SELFISH, I realized that my child hood was long gone by the time I was 15 and I desperately wanted it back! I realized that I really do love you and that I always have but please Dominic, I'm so friggen sorry! I'm so scared right now!" Gracie poured out breathlessly into Dominic's knees crying harder when she finished.  
  
Dominic sat on the bed and took in everything that she had just said. Finally he placed his hands on the top of her head and stroked her hair. He reached down and pulled her up from his knees and sat her on his lap.  
  
"I'm sorry too. I'm sorry that I expected you to be anything more than 18." Dominic said leaning in to kiss her gently.  
  
Gracie returned the kiss and slid back onto the bed. Dominic turned over and climbed on top of her.  
  
"It's been a long time." He said quietly to her.  
  
"I know." She said kissing him passionately for the first time in what seemed like forever.  
  
Dominic broke the kiss.  
  
"Gracie?" he asked her.  
  
"Yeah sweetie?" Gracie replied rubbing the top of his bald head.  
  
"I love you." He said with the most sincerity she had ever heard him use.  
  
"I love you too, and I'll never leave you again." Gracie told him before shutting off the light.  
  
  
*That Night*  
  
Dominic and Gracie walked out of their bedroom hand in hand and went down the stairs.  
  
"Aww look they made up!" Letty said laughing as they entered the kitchen. She was sitting at the table reading a magazine with the rest of the team eating.  
  
"I think they did more than make up...look at that grin on Dominic's face." Leon said laughing with Vince and Jesse joining him.   
  
Immediately Dominic's face turned red. He picked up his keys off the table and shooed Gracie out the door with him.  
  
"We're going to get Gracie's car." Dominic said smiling and flipping off Leon.   
  
Leon returned the gesture and yelled, "I love you man!" just before Dominic closed the door.  
  
"I love you too dawg." Dominic said right before the door slammed.  
  
On the way to the hotel Gracie had slept at the night before, Gracie lay across Dominic's leg and sang to the song on the radio. It was amazing to Dominic how the song that had depressed him earlier could make him so happy now, and Gracie's voice was so beautiful. She sang the song as if she had written it for Dominic.   
  
I don't remember feeling like this...  
Baby...Baby I love you...Baby...Baby I love you.  
[Verse 1]  
I got this jones forming in my bones (from a man)  
who indeed took over my soul, (understand)  
I couldn't breathe if he ever said (he would leave),  
get on my knees till they bloody red, (baby please)  
see I don't know if you get it yet, (just don't know)  
He's like the lighter to my cigarette,  
(watch me smoke), I never knew another human life  
(didn't know) can have the power to take over mine,  
So baby baby.  
[Chorus]  
Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby,(baby I love you) baby,  
baby, baby, baby, baby, I love it when I hear  
ya name, got me sayin' baby, baby, baby,  
baby, baby,(baby I love you) baby, baby, baby, baby, baby.  
[Verse 2]  
See, I could never feel alone with you (in my life),  
I gave up everything I own for you (won't  
think twice), almost a shame how I'm mesmerized (such a shame),  
I loose my thought looking in your eyes (I know why)  
because your kisses make my lips quiver and (that's real) and when you  
touch me my whole body shivers. (I can feel) now,  
I can see how another life(nother life) you  
have the power to take over mine cause your my.  
[Chorus 2x]  
[Verse 3]  
Baby, I can't see my worth (I can't see) living here on  
God's green earth, you don't know what  
you've done to me, (done to me) I never thought  
I'd need you desperately,(desperately) it's kind  
of sick how I'm stuck on you(stuck on you)  
but I don't care cause I'm needing you (I'm needing you)  
and how I feel will remain the same (remains the same)  
cause your're my baby, (cause your my baby)  
listen and when the world starts to stress me out,  
(where I run) it's to you boy without  
a doubt (you're the one) who keeps me sane and I can't complain  
(can't complain) you're like a  
drug you relieve my pain (may seem strange)  
you're like the blood flowing through my vain, (oooo)  
keeps me alive and feeding my brain,  
(oooo) now this is how another human life (nother life) could  
have the power to take over mine cause your my  
[Chorus 2x]  
  
  
Dominic didn't want that car-ride to end but unfortunately it did. They picked up Gracie's car and drove home. They parked their cars in the driveway of their home and Gracie jumped out of her car and ran to Dominic to hold his hand and they bounded into the house laughing.   
  
When they entered the house Gracie stopped dead in her tracks. There was someone standing in the kitchen with the team and Leon was yelling at him. They stopped when they saw Gracie.  
  
"Hey Gracie baby." The guy said to her.  
  
Gracie was silent for a minute.  
  
"Adam what the hell are you doing here?" she finally said.   
  
Dominic looked back and forth from Gracie to this guy she called Adam. He'd never seen him before in his entire life, but he could tell he had a past with Gracie just by the way she interacted and looked at him. It couldn't be a good past either.  
  
"I came to get my kid." Adam answered her smiling coyly.  
  
Dominic dropped his hand from Gracie's and walked up the stairs.  
  
"I don't believe this shit." Leon said shaking his head. 


	9. The daddy test

Hey. Alright my drama level is getting pretty high. Please R&R! I need the love!!  
Shay.  
  
  
Chapter 8.  
  
Dominic stormed up the stairs and back into his room. He couldn't agree with Leon any more. He couldn't believe the shit that was going on. Dominic didn't even know who this Adam guy in his kitchen was but he wanted to strangle him. What did he mean by "I came to get my kid." or whatever the hell it was he said? Who was this kid? It couldn't be Little Mia...right? If it was that meant Gracie had cheated on him.   
  
Everything going on was way too much for Dominic. The thought of Gracie cheating on him was completely unbearable, especially after the fact that Gracie had just come back to him and they had just slept together again for the first time in a long time. Finally he heard a knock on the door. He opened it and it was Gracie.  
  
"Tell me what the hell is going on NOW Gracie, and who the hell is this Adam guy?!" Dominic yelled furiously at her.   
  
"Alright Dominic, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. When I was 15 I cheated on you, I slept with Adam a few times. He was my age, I know that's not an excuse and I'm sorry, but I didn't know when the right time to tell you this would be." Gracie told him sternly.   
  
"Jesus Christ Gracie! I never ONCE cheated on you, never even thought of touching another girl besides you! How could you do this to me!" Dominic yelled but as he did it he realized what she meant. She was young, she didn't understand, he knew she loved him. But Jesus he was angry.  
  
"I'm sorry." Was all Gracie could say.  
  
Dominic closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. There was no use in being mad at her it wasn't going to help him.   
  
"Alright well what was he talking about 'his kid'?" Dominic asked her solemnly.  
  
"He found out that I had a baby and he thinks Little Mia is his." Gracie said.  
  
"He better stay the fuck away from my daughter!" Dominic said unwrapping Gracie from his arms.  
  
"She IS mine isn't she?" Dominic asked her in the most serious voice he had every used.  
  
Gracie looked at him straight in the eye and stared there for a minute.  
  
"I'm almost positive." She said finally.  
  
"Your ALMOST positive?" Dominic said angrily.  
  
"Yes." She said looking toward the floor.  
  
"I want a test. I want to prove she's mine. I would love her either way and she would always be MY daughter, but Gracie, she better be mine for real." Dominic said.  
  
"Alright. We'll get a test." Gracie said slowly. She was scared; you could hear it in her voice.  
  
Dominic walked out of the room with Gracie in tow and down the stairs to the kitchen where Adam was standing and the rest of the team was sitting at the table giving him the evil eye.   
  
"Hey Adam I'm Dominic." Dominic said shaking Adam's hand.  
  
"Nice to meet you man." Adam told him.  
  
"Alright, I don't know if you've heard the story yet, but Gracie cheated on me with you a while back and she had a baby, which as far as we know is MY daughter. I was just informed of this entire ordeal, and I'd like to get a blood test to prove that she's my daughter. Are you cool with that?" Dominic asked Adam very calmly as the rest of the team's mouths dropped open as they starred at Gracie.   
  
"Yeah that's fine man, I just wanted to come here to see if she was mine. I didn't want to be a dead beat father or anything, and I'm really sorry if I sounded like an asshole when you walked in, but when I told Leon what I was here for he flipped out at me and I was just generally pissed at the time. I never even knew until a week ago that she had had a baby." Adam told Dominic.   
  
"Gracie call and schedule for a test." Dominic told her.   
  
Gracie only nodded her head and headed to the phone. After she spoke to the person on the other line she hung up the phone.  
  
"They can take us right away." She told them.  
  
Dominic and Adam nodded their heads and unison and headed out the door. Gracie got in the car with Dominic and rode with him.  
  
"I've really fucked up this time." She thought on the way.  
  
At the doctors office Gracie watched as they put a needle through the arms of both men. She couldn't believe what she had done. She wasn't even sure who her daughter's father was. It had to be Dominic; it couldn't be Adam, right? 


	10. Letty's Revolution

Alright, here's some more. PLEASE REVIEW. I wrote the first three pages of this chapter and then my screen froze and I lost all of it so please make this worth it for me!  
Shay.  
  
Chapter 9  
  
After the blood test Gracie walked around in a daze. She was scared about the results. She was almost positive that Little Mia was Dominic's but she wasn't sure. Gracie couldn't picture her daughter having any other father than Dominic. She felt terrible about that she let this situation happen. The doctor said that the results would come back in a week and this was a week exactly from the blood test. Gracie waited for the mail all day.  
  
Dominic wasn't doing much better. He wished and prayed with all his heart that Little Mia was his. He wouldn't love her any less if she wasn't, she would still always be his daughter to him, but if she wasn't his by blood that meant someone else was her father. This wasn't something that Dominic was ready to handle. The mere thought of this either sent him into frenzy or he got sick over it. He was determined that Little Mia was his no matter what any doctor said. He was willing to do anything necessary to keep her; he wasn't about to let Adam take her away from him. Dominic was the one who had raised her, so as far as he was concerned he WAS her real father, Adam couldn't show up and a week later be Little Mia's father. Dominic was really fired up over this. He waited for the mail all day.  
  
During this entire ordeal, Little Mia was at Marlena's house. As far as she knew, her "happy family" was off on a beach somewhere basking in the sun and was going to bring her back wonderful presents when they came home. Obviously she couldn't have been more wrong. She had no idea that at home there was a silent war being fought over her and that when she finally did come home, she might come home to a new daddy, one she had never met in her entire life, but still the same was her father.  
  
The team walked on eggshells. They didn't want to do anything that was going to piss Dom off. He was already going through a lot of shit that he didn't need to and it was all because he loved Gracie with all his heart. They did mostly everything around the garage trying to ease the stress on him. None of them could believe the things that Gracie had done to him, but then the remembered that Gracie had been young when she cheated on Dom and at that time none of them thought that they should be together. They thought that Gracie was too young to know what love really was and that Dominic just wanted to believe what she felt for him was real love because he loved her with everything he had. The entire experience to them began to seem unreal, and they wished it were.  
  
The wedding had been postponed. The day the test results were due to come back was the day that Dominic and Gracie were supposed to be getting married. The situation over Little Mia was too hectic to have the wedding put in at the same time. Leon, Jesse and Vince weren't even sure if the two were still going to get married. But Letty and Mia, being women were convinced that love would prevail and that the marriage would still take place. Gracie knew that she wanted to marry Dominic, but Dominic wasn't so sure about Gracie now. It seemed that there was a lot that he didn't know about her and that scared him, as it would scare anyone else. He was now seeing a whole new side to her that had never come out before. This woman had caused him more pain in the past two weeks than he ever had felt in his entire life. Dominic wasn't sure if he was ready for a lifetime full of surprises as much as he loved Gracie, the trust was beginning to fade away.  
  
Mia and Jesse were sitting at the table when the mail truck pulled up.   
  
"Oh shit here we go..."Jesse said as he looked out the window.  
  
Mia reached across the table and took Jesse's hands in hers.  
  
"It's going to be alright no matter what." She told him.  
  
Jesse nodded his head but his eyes remained focused on what was going on outside the window. It seemed like the mailman took longer to get to the mailbox today than he ever had before. By the time he had dropped the mail into the box it felt like two eternity's had passed. As the mailman traveled across the lawn and back to his truck Mia and Jesse starred at each other. Finally Jesse got up and walked outside to the small black mailbox that hung against the house. He reached in and picked up the pile of mail that had just been dropped off.  
  
Jesse walked into the house and slowly sorted the mail. He created a pile for himself, Letty, Mia, Vince, Leon, Dominic and Gracie and then there was the final envelope.  
"Angel Memorial Hospital" was the return address. He silently placed it on the table and he and Mia starred at it.  
  
At this time Gracie and Dominic walked into the room and saw what they were looking at. They looked at each other for a few minutes and then Dominic finally picked up the envelope.   
  
"I wanna be alone for this ok?" Dominic said as he looked at Gracie. She nodded.  
  
Dominic walked into the living room and sat on the couch. He turned the envelope over in his hands debating on whether to open it or burn it. Finally he took a deep breath and opened the letter.  
  
He skipped over all the crap written at the top and looked directly at the bottom.   
  
Adam Taring: 98%  
Dominic Toretto: 0%  
  
We have concluded that there is no possible way for Dominic Toretto to be the father of Mia Vincenza Toretto.   
  
Dominic couldn't believe what he was reading. Little Mia wasn't his daughter. He thought about her face, and he realized there was nothing about her that looked like him. Maybe he only thought she had his nose, he had just wanted to see it or something, she looked almost exactly like her mother.  
  
He was devastated. He got up and walked slowly back into the kitchen. By this time the whole team had gathered silently into the kitchen and were waiting with their own thoughts. They all gazed up at him and stood up when Dominic entered the room. He looked at all of them one by one and then stopped on Gracie. She knew without him telling her what the letter said. Little Mia was Adam's. She burst into tears and ran up the stairs. The whole team stood in shock, had this really just happened?  
  
"Guys help me." Dominic said as he crashed to the floor and burst into the most tears he had ever cried in his entire life. All the emotion he had kept bottled inside of him flowed out of his body. The thing he loved the most in his life wasn't even really his.  
  
The whole team gathered by his side. They to had started crying. None of them cared how they looked, the guys didn't even care that it wasn't manly to cry. The team cried together for the pain their best friend was feeling. He had been the best father to Little Mia, he did more for her than anyone could ever ask for, and now he had found out that she wasn't even his. Dominic still loved her no matter what, but Adam was really her father. Dom wanted more than anything to know that he personally was responsible for the life of Little Mia and it broke his heart knowing that he wasn't.   
  
No one knew what to do. The team lie in a heap on the floor in tears while Gracie was upstairs in the shower drowning her own. Everything was crashing down for her; nothing was the way it was supposed to be. Little Mia was supposed to be Dominic's little girl, not Adams! She couldn't believe that her mistakes had caused so much pain for the other people in her life. Gracie didn't know anything that couldn't make up for the hurt she had brought upon the people she loved, especially Dominic. Little Mia was the most important person in his whole world, and now he knew that she wasn't really his. Dominic had raised a little girl who was someone else's baby.   
  
Finally down in the kitchen Letty stirred. She stood up and wiped the tears from her face.  
  
"This isn't right. This is going to stop now." Letty said sternly to the rest of the group.   
  
They all paused from their tears with the exception of Dominic and looked up at her.  
  
"Dominic, Little Mia's your kid no matter what. You're keeping her. That little girl is named after your sister and your best friend! How is Adam connected to her now? He may have helped give her life but you are the reason she is still alive! You have taken care of her since the moment she was born! I'm not going to let anyone, especially not this asshole take her from you!" Letty yelled.  
  
And right there and then, Letty started a revolution that was about to change things for everyone. 


	11. Real Daddy

Hey. Updates are gonna be less frequent for a little while, no more Thanksgiving break. Please Review!   
Shay.  
  
Chapter 9.  
  
Letty stormed out of the kitchen and up the stairs. She heard the water running in the bathroom and knew that Gracie was in the shower.  
  
"No way, she's not gonna drown in her sorrows while her man's downstairs dying in his." Letty told her self as she broke down the door.  
  
She opened the shower curtain to find Gracie curled up in a naked ball in the tub.  
  
"Get up Gracie!" Letty yelled pulling her off the ceramic and wrapping a towel around her.   
  
Gracie didn't say a word to her.  
  
"Look at me Gracie!" Letty screamed at her.  
  
Gracie looked silently up at her. She had lost everything; her strength was drained from her.  
  
"What the hell has happened to you Gracie? You used to be the strongest person I knew! You never let ANYTHING get to you, now suddenly, some things start to go wrong and you RUN?! My God girl! You're the one who got Dominic's name tattooed SHOULDER TO SHOULDER to show how much you loved him and you didn't care if everyone else knew it too! Now that man is downstairs crying because of the pain you've caused him! He loves his daughter more than life itself, and now he just found out she isn't even his! You should be down there with him helping him get through this because you love him and he loves you! I love him too Gracie, he's my best friend and some days I wish that I never let him go, but I saw how good you were for him and how much he loves you, I could never take that away from him now, don't make me regret this!" Letty screeched out to Gracie in one breath.  
  
Gracie just looked at her and then finally broke the silence.  
  
"I don't know what happened to me Letty. Maybe I'm not good enough for him anymore, maybe I never was at all. Maybe you're the one who should be with him." Gracie said looking into Letty's eyes.  
  
Abruptly Letty smacked Gracie violently across the face.  
  
"You listen to me Gracie, you ARE good enough for Dominic! It's just that lately you've done a lot of shit to him that's hurt him really badly, but that doesn't change your worth! Your still Gracie to him, and he loves GRACIE." Letty yelled.  
  
"I'm sorry Letty." Gracie told her.  
  
"Don't tell me your sorry! I know your only 18 Gracie but JESUS grow up and tell him! You LOVE him!" Letty told her sternly.  
  
Gracie nodded her head and pulled on her clothes.  
  
"That's a girl, now go!" Letty yelled gently patting Gracie on the ass and sending her on the way.  
  
Gracie rushed down the stairs and ran to Dominic who was still on the kitchen floor in tears while the rest of the team tried to comfort him.  
  
"Guys I got it from here." Gracie told them and they others got up gently giving Dominic their last pats.  
  
Gracie kneeled down beside him. He hadn't even realized that she was there. Dominic was too busy trying to steady his breathing with the tears that were pouring endlessly from his eyes.  
  
"Sweetie...Dominic. I'm sorry baby. I'm so friggen sorry, I'm here." Gracie told him hugging the hunched up ball of muscle on the kitchen floor.  
  
Dominic took Gracie into his arms and just held her sobbing.  
  
"Why did you do this to me?" Dominic asked her almost inaudibly.  
  
"I'm sorry baby you didn't deserve this, and I don't deserve you." Gracie said starting to cry.  
  
Dominic only held her tighter almost crushing her.  
  
"Don't say that, you and Little Mia are all I've ever wanted." He whispered into her ear.  
  
Gracie began to cry harder. Dominic loved her with everything he had. Even after she had done more shit to him than she could have ever even imagined. He loved her. And God she loved him too.  
  
"I'll never do anything like this to you again." Gracie told him.  
  
Suddenly the team, Gracie and Dom realized there was someone else standing in the kitchen.  
"Shit, yeah this is definitely a bad time..." It was Adam.   
  
Gracie and Dominic looked up at him. He was holding the letter. When he saw them looking at him he starred down at his copy and tapped it into his palm.  
  
"Um, yeah...I'm Mia's father?" Adam said in an asking tone.  
  
"You don't have to ask, you got the letter." Dominic said beginning to get angry.  
  
"I'm sorry man, I was hoping it was you." Adam said not realizing how evil his words sounded.  
  
"But look, I just came here to make arrangements, like when do I get to see my daughter? I thought we could do an every other weekend thing." Adam asked Gracie.  
  
Before Gracie could speak Letty cut in.  
  
"Uh uh... no way man. Dominic raised Little Mia from the time she was born up until now, and suddenly you want to come into her life. Your not her real father!" Letty screamed at him.  
  
"What are you talking about? The letter says..." Adam was cut off.  
  
"I don't give a shit what that letter says! Where were you when she was born? Where were you when she got her first tooth or took her first step?" Letty asked him angrily.  
  
Adam said nothing. He looked at Letty silently for a minute and then looked to Gracie.  
  
"So can we make arrangements or not?" he asked her irritably.   
  
"Didn't you just hear her? You're not my daughter's father! Dominic is! He always will be, I never want you in my daughter's life unless she grows up and decides to meet you. She's a smart girl thought, she'll realize what an asshole you are very quickly!" Gracie squealed out to Adam still on the floor clutching Dominic.  
  
From the corner of the room Letty smiled, Gracie was getting her edge back. For the first time in a long time Dominic didn't have to say a word. Gracie had protected him for once.  
  
Adam looked at Gracie and shook his head.  
  
"You always were a bitch." He said as he walked out of the kitchen door and onto the porch.  
  
That was the "go" word. Gracie was done with this bastard. She jumped up off the floor and ran outside shoving Adam off the steps. She through him onto the lawn and sat on top of him punching him in the face until he was completely bloody and you couldn't make out his features anymore.  
  
When Gracie decided she was finished with him she moved to get off of him put suddenly Adam punched her in the face.  
  
This was Dominic's "go" word; he careened off the kitchen floor and quickly met Adam with punches 10 times as bad as Gracie's.  
  
"Stay away from me, my fiancé, and my daughter. Just stay the hell away from my family asshole!" Dominic yelled at Adam.  
  
He had surrendered. Adam got up and nodded his head with his hands in the air and headed to his car. He started it and left.  
  
Gracie hugged Dominic.  
  
"I love you baby." She told him sweetly standing on her tiptoes to kiss him.  
  
"I love you too." He told her holding her closer. 


	12. Flesh and Blood

Hey. Please R&R! Dramas getting higher...bet you thought it couldn't.  
Shay.  
  
"Can we go get my baby back?" Dominic asked Gracie.  
  
They were still standing on the lawn looking off down the street where Adam drove off.  
  
"Sure thing sweetie." Gracie said to him looking up into his big brown smiling eyes.   
  
They jumped into Gracie's civic and drove to Marlena's house. It had been a little over two weeks since Gracie had really seen Little Mia and she was dying to get her daughter back, as was Dominic.   
  
For some reason Gracie got a bad feeling inside of her when they pulled up to Marlena's. She began trembling and grabbed Dominic's hand.  
  
"What?" he asked her stupefied.  
  
"Something's wrong Dominic." Gracie mumbled.  
  
"What do you mean something's wrong?" Dominic asked her becoming terrified. Gracie was normally right with these feelings.  
  
"I don't know! But something's not right!" Gracie yelled getting out of the car and running to Marlena's door. No one answered. Gracie looked frantically around, Marlena's car was in the driveway, so where was Marlena? Dominic ran to the door and pounded on it as Gracie rang the doorbell at the same time. No answer.  
  
"Move over." Dominic told Gracie lightly moving her off the front steps.  
  
Dominic moved backwards and then swiftly forwards kicking the door open.  
  
"Marlena?" Gracie ran around the house yelling  
  
"Mia!" Dominic yelled as he scoured the house.  
  
Dominic ran upstairs and looked everywhere while Gracie searched downstairs.  
They were nowhere. Dominic came down the stairs and looked in the basement begging for their last resort. By this time Gracie was in the kitchen sitting at the table.  
  
"Where's my baby?" escaped loudly from her lips.  
  
She put her elbows on the table and felt something underneath one. It was a piece of paper with writing all over it. She didn't want to read Marlena's mail but something told her to read it.  
  
Dominic,  
I told you boy, you can't get rid of me. Did you miss me? It's been a while. This time I got your flesh and blood, oh and the babysitter too. I don't want material possessions, nothing petty like an engine, this time; I want your dead body. Remember the little incident a few years back with you and Gracie? Come to the same place.  
Johnny.  
  
"DOMINIC!" Gracie screamed at the top of her lungs. She began to hyperventilate.   
  
Dominic ran into the kitchen and saw Gracie's trembling and angry hand holding the note. He grabbed it from her hand and read it.   
  
"That asshole can't get enough!" Dominic said pulled Gracie from the chair and running out of the house.  
  
Dominic sped Gracie's civic back to the house and they ran inside.  
  
"Wow brotha what's goin on?" Vince asked nervously.   
  
"Tran has my daughter! And Marlena!" Dominic yelled through breaths.  
  
"Shit..."Jesse trailed off.  
  
"Oh my God, oh my God...."Letty trailed off sitting down in a chair; she put her hand over her heart. Not only did they have her "niece" but Tran had her mother too.  
  
"Letty it's ok we're gonna get this asshole!" Leon yelled.  
  
"Girls stay here. We're going after them." Dominic told the girls.  
  
"Dom, no! My little girl..." Gracie said beginning to shake again.  
  
Dominic grabbed her shoulders.   
  
"It's ok baby, I'll get her, he wont lay a hand on her." Dominic calmly told her. But inside he was scared shitless, Tran wanted him dead this time, he couldn't pay him off, and the only way to get through this was to kill Tran himself.   
  
"But he wants you dead!" Gracie yelled starting to cry.   
  
The whole team looked up at Dominic shocked. He had left that part out.  
  
"He's not killing you brotha!" Leon yelled and stormed out of the house with Jesse and Vince trailing behind him. They ran to the shed where Dominic's wrecked Charger still lay collecting dust.   
  
The boy's grabbed shotguns, and handguns, any sort of weapon they could find. They jumped in Vince's car and drove to the warehouse.  
  
"We're not gonna let him get you or Little Mia man." Jesse told Dominic patting him on the shoulder.   
  
Dominic hoped to God Jesse was right. 


	13. Hide and Seek

Hey! Christmas vacation so maybe I'll get to finish this story with the next 16 days that I have off! Please R&R!~Shay  
  
Chapter 12.  
  
Dominic was in a daze as they drove along to the warehouse. His heart pounded, he hated Tran so much. This guy was just completely content on ruining his life. Sure he had made some mistakes but honestly, wanting Dom's dead body? It was a little extreme. He hadn't even seen Johnny since he THOUGHT he killed him to save Gracie when she was 15. What could he have done that would make him take his little girl and want him dead too? No matter how hard Jesse and the other guys tried to reassure him, Dominic was letting the thought set in that he wasn't going to make it through this encounter with Tran. The last one he had been lucky, if Gracie hadn't been there, he would be dead. Dominic didn't know what dying was like or maybe he did, had he been dying when Gracie called the ambulance? He didn't know. Did anyone REALLY know what dying was like? Everyone is dying in some way. Every second you are dying because you are getting closer and closer to your death. Most people don't have the knowledge of knowing when they are going to die, they go through life blind. Dominic began to wonder what would happen to him when he died...would he go to heaven? Had he lead a good life? What would happen to his family? Was there anything else he wanted?  
  
Yes there was. He wanted to live. Dominic decided then that he wasn't going to let Tran get him. He would win, again.   
  
Dominic clenched his fists together. 'I will win' kept repeating over and over in his head.  
  
It seemed like forever before they pulled up to the warehouse. They all got out of the car with their weapons of choice and looked around. The place was dead. It didn't take long before the understood what was going on. This was a game.  
  
"Trans fucked up man..." Leon said as he looked around the deserted parking area of the warehouse.  
  
"You didn't have to say that we already knew it brotha." Vince replied solemnly loading his gun.   
  
The object of Trans game was to find him before he found them. Just the type of thing for him to do but the boys weren't prepared for it. Why hadn't they seen something like this coming?  
  
The guys signaled to each other to go in partners. Leon with Dominic, Jesse with Vince.   
  
Leon and Dominic carefully and quietly climbed the warehouse stairs and entered in the same fashion. They walked soundlessly through the rows piled high of boxes. Suddenly Dominic heard a crash behind him. He turned around and there stood Little Mia, bound and gagged.  
"Baby!" Dominic cried out as he ran forward to pick up his daughter but then suddenly stopped. He had to be smart about this, Little Mia just appeared out of no where with her legs tied together and duct tape across her mouth? This didn't seem right. He edged closer to her and noticed a small stopwatch strapped around her waist only the time was going backwards...Tran had created his own little homemade bomb. Dominic's heart dropped. He motioned for Leon to step forward with him and see what he was seeing. Leon leaned towards Little Mia and when he realized what was going on he quickly stepped back.  
  
"Holy shit." He stated in a barely audible voice.  
  
Dominic's heart began to race. His little girl was attached to a bomb. Or was she really? Sure the gadgets Tran had strapped around her looked like a bomb but was it really? He stepped closer and squinted in the dim light. All tape and plastic. No wires. Dominic sighed in relief and then ripped the phony bomb off his daughter and picked her up and kissed her.  
  
"Alright Tran you got my attention. Come out now please...." Dominic said gruffly as Little Mia cuddled into his arms her whole tiny body shaking. He didn't even want to think about what Johnny could have done to her.   
  
The world stood still for a few moments until finally Johnny stepped out of the darkness. He had the goofiest smirk on his face and he began to laugh almost immediately. The idiot had been drinking. Dominic immediately became furious and handed Little Mia to Leon.   
  
He ran forward and grabbed Tran by the shirt.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?!" Dominic screamed into Trans face and then remembered he was holding a gun which could come in handy. He pointed the gun to Johnny's chest. Behind him Leon covered Little Mia's eyes and rocked her back and forth. She didn't need to see her father kill a man.   
  
"Damnit Dom stop screaming." Johnny said closing his eyes. Suddenly Marlena stepped out of the darkness at this point and smiled.  
  
"Marlena? Are you ok?" Dominic asked her. He was beginning to get confused.  
  
"I got him drunk." Marlena said laughing.  
  
"He was threatening to kill me and I told him to sit down and have a drink...he actually listened to me. While he wasn't I slipped some of my meds into the bottle of Tequila that he was drinking. He sloshed and he should be out in a second or so." Marlena stated just as Tran hit the floor.  
  
"I can't believe this shit." Leon said shaking his head as Dominic just laughed.   
"Is he dead?" Dominic asked Marlena hopefully.  
  
"Not yet...hopefully this is the last of him Dominic. I gave him a lot of my medicine and he drank a good portion of that bottle. You think the cops will think it was suicide or an accident if he really does go?" Marlena asked biting her lip.  
  
"Probably. The cops have been trying to get Trans case of their hands for quite a while now. They'll probably just be glad he's dead." Dominic said going and taking Little Mia back from Leon.   
  
"D-daddy I want to go h-home." Little Mia said struggling to breathe.  
  
"It's alright sweetie, we're going home now and that man will never hurt you again." Dominic told her kissing her head.   
  
On the way around the corner they ran into Vince and Jesse who thought they were Johnny. Vince pointed his gun at Dominic's head and Dom sucked in his breath.  
  
"Oh my God..." Vince said hyperventilating when he realized he could have blown his best friend and his namesake to kingdom come.  
  
Little Mia's eyes got glazed and she just started at Vince. He looked back at her and looked like he was going to cry. He took her into his arms and kept telling her he was sorry that he thought they were the bad man who was going to hurt her and he didn't know.   
  
Little Mia just nodded her head. She understood but Vince had scared her.  
  
"What the hell happened?!" Vince finally asked Dominic.  
  
"Its gonna be ok man. I'll explain everything on the way home." Dominic answered patting his best friend on the back. 


End file.
